Merlin's Revival
by Sunnflowers
Summary: Rated for safety and disregards the 6th book. R&R please! A new student with an unknown past and a future that could be so chaotic that it cannot be ordained, has finally come to Hogwarts. But what is her true purpose?
1. A Midnight Conspiracy

Disclaimer: Don't take what's mine, but what I didn't create isn't mine   
  
  
  
Merlin's Revival  
  
Chapter 1: A Midnight Conspiracy  
  
"Where's she going?" The question was whispered and hurried. "Everyone knows we're not supposed to be out, especially with all the new restrictions Dumbledore's put in place this year."  
  
"Oh, shut it, Ron, and come on. Hurry. We're losing her." Hermione said tugging at his robes. "Ron, if you don't hurry, we're not only going to lose sight of Aithne, but we're also going to lose sight of Harry." The two sixth year Gryffindor prefects ran to catch up with Harry.  
  
After entering the forest they heard the cold familiar drawl of Mr. Malfoy. They crept closer until they had a view of Mr. Malfoy and Aithne.  
  
"You have the goods, I presume." He said it with an apparent sneer which plainly said he didn't think she could get such information.  
  
"No, I left it on my bedside table, so that I could walk all the down here in the freezing cold weather, in the dead of night, with teachers (A/N: Author starts making coughing noise that remarkably resembles Snape) prowling every corner just so I have to turn right around and sneak back into the castle to get 'the goods,'" she replied giving him a casually sarcastic smirk. "If you don't think I'm capable, Lucious, you can do the work yourself, and I'll keep all this juicy information to myself," she said removing a large envelope from beneath her robes.   
  
"Oh, shut your insolent little mouth and give me the envelope already," he snarled.  
  
"Ah ah ah, Lucious. You know the rules. I give you information, and you give me my reward."  
  
Lucious reached inside his robes and pulled out a package that very closely resembled the one Aithne had procured.   
  
"Here is your reward, Mistress." Lucious said with the utmost of respect. (A/N: Going into a little Lucious POV here) If everything Voldemort had said about her was true, then he certainly needed to keep on her good side and show the respect Lord Voldemort had told them to treat her with. (A/N: Back to normal POV)  
  
"Thank you, Lucious," she commented halfheartedly as they exchanged envelopes. Lucious bowed curtiously and disapeered into the trees. As soon as Aithne was sure he was out of visibility and hearing range she tore open the envelope which contained some special potion ingrediants that she had asked for and a note on a single card of golden color. Aithne grabbed the card and quickly read it through.  
  
"Well," she muttered under her breath just loud enough for the three students hidden in the darkness to hear. "I wonder why he wants that relic?" With that, Aithne turned and walked forward toward the trees. Right. At. Them.  
  
A/N Please R&R tell me what you think. Hope you like! I don't care if you give negative comments. Yeah, flame me! (Only if you want, positive comments are better!) Please forgive me for the shortness of the chapters 


	2. The True Identity

Disclaimer: Don't take what's mine, but what I didn't create I have no claim on.  
  
A/N: Sorry, I forgot to give you pronunciations in the first chapter.   
  
Aithne is pronounced: aye (like the sailors: aye aye captain) th (as in the beginning of thin) knee (as in the part of your leg)  
  
  
  
Chapter 2: The True Identity  
  
Harry quickly pulled himself out of his stupor, and pulled out his wand. The others followed his example silently. They all quickly spread out so that they would surround her and so that only Harry would at first be visible. She sedately strolled into their "trap" rereading the little card. Harry took a step forward, "Stay where you are." He commanded Aithne. Aithne, however, disregarded the command and continued on her way when two other identical commands rose to meet her. She paused and looked around. She stuffed her "reward" into her robes and lifted her hands in surrender as a minute smirk crossed her face.  
  
"If you come along quietly, we won't have to hurt you," Ron said lamely. "Oh, um, follow Harry."  
  
Aithne contemplated just ditching the three young wizards before deciding that that would endanger her secret too much, so she follwed without incident.  
  
The four wizards walked quietly for a few minutes before coming within sight of the edge of the forest.   
  
*** In Hagrid's cabin  
  
"Thank you for the tea, Hagrid. I really must be going now."  
  
"All righ', Professor Lupin. I' was nice ta see ya other than durin' yer class." Hagrid showed Professor Lupin to the door.  
  
"I'll see you later, Hagrid," Lupin opened the door and exited.  
  
***  
  
"Look! It's Professor Lupin!" Hermione exclaimed quietly. "He'll be able to help us!"   
  
The small group quickened their pace so that they would reach the Professor as soon as possible. As they cleared the forest, Lupin turned around, and when he caught sight of the quartet a look of shock crossed his face.  
  
"What in the name of Merlin are you three doing out here!?" he exclaimed. "Especially you, Harry, you should know better by now!"  
  
"Um, Exuse me, Professor Lupin, but there are four of us here." Hermione spoke up timidly.  
  
"Yes, there may be four of you here, but I know what Aithne is doing."  
  
"You only think you know what she was doing. You probably think she was doing you a favor or something. You're WRONG!" Ron exclaimed loudly. "She works for Voldemort! You here me! SHE'S A SPY!!!!!!"  
  
"Ron, calm down," Lupin spoke calmly, reasonably. "You don't know the entire story here. Aithne is not who you think she is. Her real name is the name you knw her by, but other than that you know nothing." Lupin explained all of this simply and quickly. "I think it's best if you know her true identity. Come, we'll go to Hagrid's hut to explain."  
  
A/N Please R&R tell me what you think. Hope you like! I don't care if you give negative comments. Yeah, flame me! (Only if you want, positive comments are better!) Please forgive me for the shortness of the chapters, I felt that was a good spot to end this chapter. Oh, and thank you so much to those who reviewed this story so far! 


	3. Aithne explains part 1

A/N: Sorry, I forgot to give you pronunciations in the first chapter.   
  
Aithne is pronounced: aye (like the sailors: aye aye captain) th (as in the beginning of thin) knee (as in the part of your leg)  
  
The five walked across the grounds and up to Hagrid's front door. Lupin stepped forward and knocked on the door three times. They heard Hagrid's lumbering footsteps and Fang's excited barking. The door opened a crack to reveal Hagrid's wary face. Seeing Lupin, Hagrid grabbed Fang's collar and threw open the door.  
  
"Back so soon, Professor? Did ye ferge' sumpthin'?"  
  
"No, Hagrid. . ."  
  
"Harry! What in the name o' MERLIN do you think you're doin' out?! And at this time!"  
  
"Please, Hagrid, calm down.We merely want an explanation as to why Aithne was out," Hermione interjected calmly.  
  
"And not only that! We want to know why she was consorting with Lucious Malfoy!"  
  
"She was doin' what!?" Lupin hurried to intercede,"Don't worry, Hagrid. There is a perfectly feasible reason for all of this. If we may come in, then Aithne and I will explain everything."  
  
"All righ', all righ'. C'mon in. I'll put some tea on." They all entered the hut to the warm glow of the fire. Lupin seemed unconcerned at Aithne's whereabouts and perfectly confidant that she was following and wouldn't try to run away. Harry and the others, however, were not so trusting and so they flanked Aithne so that she could not escape.  
  
Aithne, who was ignoring the trio, seated herself comfortably in one of Hagrid's infamous hardback chairs.  
  
"Proffessor? What's goin' on?" Hagrid gave Lupin a guardedly confused expression.  
  
"Don't worry, Hagrid. I'm about to explain everything."  
  
"Remus," that one soft-spoken word grabbed the attention of everyone in the room. "I think it would be best," Aithne hesitated and then continued, "if I explained." Lupin nodded and gestured that Aithne should begin.  
  
"My past goes back further than time allows for me to explain adequetely, so a short summary will have to do."She paused for a moment and then continued. "I am not whom you assume I am. Contrary to popular belief, I am almost as old as Professor Snape and Lupin." Harry, Ron, and Hermione all looked suitably shocked, as did Hagrid; Lupin, however, already seemed to know this.  
  
"I did not attend Hogwarts for my training, but rather Rotaluclac(1), an Amerian wizarding school. I moved to England after I finished my training. I had sincerely hoped that the wizarding population here would be more accepting of my . . . condition . . ."  
  
"You're a werewolf TOO!?" Ron exclaimed in question as he jumped out of his chair.  
  
"No. Actually I'm a vampire." The statement was completely deadpanned and seemed to send shockwaves (excluding Lupin of course) throughout the room. Ron promptly sat back down as all the blood drained from his face.  
  
"You're what?" Hermione gasped into the silence.  
  
"I need not repeat myself, Ms. Granger. You heard what I said," Aithne stood; Harry following with his own course of action.  
  
"Sit down, Harry." It was Lupin who spoke this time.  
  
"But Professor . . ." Harry began to protest, but Lupin interupted. "Harry, not only is she a graduated wizard, she's a vampire and an authorized auror. Trust me, if she had wanted to escape, you woudn't have been able to see her let alone stop her."  
  
Harry completely dumbstruck, sat back down and followed Aithne's movements as she prepared the tea.Aithne returned to the table with two mugs of tea and nonchalantly handed one of the mugs to Lupin, who accepted it gratefully. Aithne sat back down and sipped on her tea as she continued from where she had left off, "Concerning the Order of the Pheonix  
  
Disclaimer: Don't take what's mine, but what I didn't create I have no claim on.  
  
Thanks to all of you who reviewed and sorry about the long delay, I was having trouble with my computer.  
  
A/N Please R&R tell me what you think. Hope you like! I don't care if you give negative comments. I'm desperate enough that I'm on my knees begging for reviews. Please forgive me for the shortness of the chapters, I felt that was a good spot to end this chapter. Oh, and thank you so much to those who reviewed this story so far! 


	4. Aithne explains part 2

Disclaimer: Don't take what's mine, but what I didn't create I have no claim on.  
  
Thanks to all of you who reviewed and sorry about the long delay, I was having trouble with my computer.  
  
Chapter 4 Aithne explains part 2  
  
"Concerning the Order of the Pheonix, I would be a member but I am a total secret."  
"What do you mean?" a puzzled Hermione asked.  
"I mean that Dumbledore doesn't really know who I am or what I'm doing. No one does, except now you four know, and Remus has always known."  
"You still haven't answered our original questions though," Harry commented as an afterthought to the spiel by Aithne. "Why were you in the forest this late at night, why were you talking with Lucious Malfoy, what was in the envelope you gave him, what was in the envelope he gave you, and most importantly, do you or do you not work for Voldemort, and if not, what in the world WERE you doing?" Harry took a long deep breath and continued with another question, "One last question, Professor Lupin?"  
"Yes, Harry."  
"Why were you waiting for Aithne? I mean, if she is as powerful as you both claim she is, I'm sure she could probably take care of herself."  
"Yes, Harry, I'm sure she could also. However, no other person knows what she's doing. If another teacher saw her coming back to the castle, what do you think they would do? I was there, not to ensure her protection, but to make sure her rendezvous was uninterrupted and to escort her back to the castle when she was done, so she wouldn't get in trouble. Besides, she's probably the most dangerous creature in the forest."  
"I think you forgot about Aragaug and his family," Ron put in quietly.  
"Ron, even Aragaug knows how dangerous Aithne is. When she's around, you can be sure that the spiders give her a wide berth."  
Aithne interrupted softly before they could continue, "The sun will rise soon, we should head back."  
"But what about you? Vampires can't go out in sunlight."  
"That's a myth. I'm not particularly fond of sunlight sometimes, Harry, but I won't spontaneously combust if I walk out in daylight. If I did, I would surely miss all of the Herbology lessons.  
"The fact is, most things you've heard about vampires are myths. Holy water is just water blessed by priests. Doesn't taste very good, but is in no way harmful. Other stuff like crosses, silver bullets, even a wooden stake to the heart, all of them are myths. About the only thing that hasn't been tried on me or I haven't tried on myself is outright decapitation." Aithne smirked as she stood and moved towards the door, followed by Lupin and the others. "Thank you for the hospitality, Hagrid, have a nice day." With that, Aithne opened the door, and they all started the walk back up to the castle.  
  
"Just curious," Hermione broke the thick silence, "do you have to drink blood? I mean, if all that other stuff is a myth, what about the blood?"  
"The thing about vampires, Hermione, is that no one really knows anything about them. What was known at one time has now become so streched and exaggerated, that it is no longer truthful."  
Lupin and Harry pushed open the heavy front doors.  
"People don't seem to realize that vampires aren't all cold-blooded, heartless, serial murderers. Yes, we do need blood, but we don't don't have to kill. The blood can be given willingly and taken in small quantities so as not to hurt anyone. Vampires are almost exactly like humans, except we have a few more accessories and needs." Here Lupin left them to enter his own chambers.  
Harry and the others walked back up to Gryffindor common room. Everyone chose a seat near the fire.  
"Harry, if you'd like, I'll answer your questions now."  
"I would appreciate it," Harry replied drily.  
"Why was I out so late at night? Lucious can not be seen to be doing Voldemort's handy work and I would have been hindered greatly by staff and students if I had tried to enter the forest during daylight hours. I was talking to Lucious, because he is my link to Voldemort. I pass Voldemort information; false of course, through Lucious. The information was what was in the envelope I gave him."  
"But what was in the envelope you recieved?"  
"All in due time. The envelope I recieved gives me Voldemort's instructions of what I am to do next and some special potion ingredients."  
"Potion ingredients?"  
"Yes, to make a potion that will keep me from needing to drink blood." Aithne smirked, "I have been blood free for almost five years. Quite a long time for a vampire.  
"Was that all the questions?"  
"No. You've pretty much told us that you don't work for Voldemort and what you actually were doing, but if you don't work for either Voldemort or the Order, who do you work for?"  
"The benefit of mankind. Or I guess you could say that I work for myself."  
The group sat in silence for a moment before Ron's stomach interrupted all thoughts in the room. As if in silent agreement, the four stood and went down to breakfast without another word to each other.  
  
A/N Please R&R tell me what you think. Hope you like! I don't care if you give negative comments. I'm desperate enough that I'm on my knees begging for reviews. Please forgive me for the shortness of the chapters, I felt that was a good spot to end this chapter. Oh, and thank you so much to those who reviewed this story so far! 


	5. The Potion part 1

Disclaimer: See previous chapters

A/N: Thanx to all those who reviewed the last chapter, and I apologize for taking so long to update.

Chapter 5

The Potion part 1

"You have the rest of the class to complete the assignment," as Snape finished giving instructions, Aithne entered the classroom. "Why are you so late?" Snape snarled at her. Aithne handed him a note and answered offhandedly as she set up her cauldron next to Neville, "Proffessor Dumbledore wanted a word with me. I could hardly refuse."

"Very well. The assignment is on the board," Snape walked back up to his desk and sat down, spearing Aithne with an unreadable look before returning to his work.

The class followed Proffessor Snape's directions carefully. About half-way through the class, Aithne glanced over at Neville. Faster than the eye could see, Aithne reached out and pulled Neville to the floor just as he dropped an ingredient into his cauldron and it exploded. As the smoke cleared, chaos ensued. Snape shouted for calm and eventually gained it. As he started examining the students' superficial injuries, Aithne moved off of Neville and started checking him over for any injury. Seeing that her body had protected him, Aithne started to brush herself off as she stood. Snape started to make his way towards her and Neville just as Aithne turned and fled the room.

"Anyone who was injured, please head up to the Hospital Wing, the rest of you go back to your common rooms!" The students filed out of the classroom at Snape's command. Snape bent down over Neville as the boy started to sit up, "Are you hurt?" Neville shook his head.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry P-Proffessor. I didn't mean to."

"It doesn't matter now you silly boy. You will be seeing the headmaster over this. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Proffessor Snape."

"Good." With this Snape held out his hand and Neville warily accepted the help to stand. "Vanora?"(1)

"I don't know, she just ran out into the hallway. She didn't look very good, professor. You should probably make sure she wasn't hurt. I'll stay right here, I promise." Snape glared at Neville a moment before stepping toward the door.

Aithne stumbled out of the small nich as Snape walked out of the potion's room. Snape turned toward her and walked over quickly. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I just don't feel very well, Proffessor."

"I'll get you some water." Aithne managed to rasp out a 'no' as she started to sway. "Let's get you up to the hospital wing,then." With that Snape scooped Aithne into his arms just as her legs gave out beneath her.Halfway to the hospital wing, as Snape looked down at her pale, shivering form, Aithne's eyes closed slowly as she surrendered to unconcioussness.

As Snape entered the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey, Proffessor McGonagall, and Proffessor Lupin came up to him. Lupin silently accepted Aithne's still form, while McGonagall started to question Snape about what happened.

Lupin walked over to the bed that Hermione had just vacated, and laid Aithne down on it. "What happened down there, Harry?"

"I think Neville mixed up his potion ingrediants. He was lucky Aithne was there to pull him to the floor, he could have been seriously injured."

"What happened to her?"

"Well, after the explosion, she kind of started to dust herself off, and then she suddenly ran out of the room."

"I was heading up to the hospital wing to get the gash in my arm healed when she came running out into the hallway; she sort of ran into a small nich, where she, well, she lost her lunch, for lack of a better term. I tried to go over to help her, but she told me to get up to the hospital wing and away from her; she was quite forceful about it to tell you the truth." As Hermione finished speaking, Madame Pomfrey and Proffessor McGonagall came over.

"It's nothing to seious, Poppy. Apparently she just has a weak stomach and fainted after the explosion. I'll take her up to her common room, why don't you go look after the rest of the students." Madame Pomfrey nodded, Remus knew remedies almost as well as her, she trusted his judgement.

As Madame Pomfrey walked away, Lupin gently picked up Aithne and motioned slightly at Harry, "Lead the way," before they all headed for the door. Four pairs of feet made their way to the portrait of the Fat Lady, who of course had dosed off. "Excuse me," The Fat Lady jerked awake at the sound of Lupin's voice.

"Eh, Password?"

"Harry, what did you say the password was again?"

"Remus! I didn't know you were back at Hogwarts!" The Fat Lady exclaimed as she slowly became completely awake and realised that it it wasn't just students seeking entrance to the common room.

"Milk and Cookies," Harry stated. As the portrait swung open Harry muttered, "That is such a stupid password."

The four stepped through the portrait hole and into the common room, which by some miracle was empty. Lupin walked over to one of the many couches in the common room and set Aithne down. When he started to speak, it was soft, but the other three heard him perfectly. " Aithne will have to stay with me for the next couple of days for observation. I have to be sure of the effects that that explosion had on her. The indicators haven't been at all good so far. Hermione, could you go upstairs and please bring down that envelope that Aithne recieved from Lucious the other night?"

"Sure, no problem, Proffessor." Hermione headed up to the dorm room where Aithne kept all her possessions. She stopped about halfway up the stairs.

"Proffessor?"

"Yes?"

"Aithne keeps her trunk locked. Not even one of my alohomora charms can open it."

"One moment," Lupin took hold of the small chain that hung around Aithne's neck and unfastened it before holding the key out to Hermione. Hermione went upstairs and brought the potion ingrediants down moments later.

"Proffessor, you said she needed to stay under observation, because the indicators weren't good. What indicators were you talking about? What's happening?"

"The indicators; ridding her body of food, refusing anything to drink afterwards, and loosing conciousness, point toward the fact that that potion Neville created, along with the explosion, had a bad reaction with the potion Aithne uses."

"What are you saying, Proffessor?"

"When Aithne wakes up, she'll probably be hungry, and not for food. That explosion left Aithne's special abilities, shall we say, unprotected."

"What, you mean when she wakes up, she'll be in full vampire mode?"

"Yes, Ron, that's exactly what I'm saying." Ron paled, as did Harry and Hermione.

"Well, at least this happened, last day of classes. Hopefully, she'll be ready to go back to classes by the end of Christmas vacation."

"We can only hope."

"I'll be taking her to the shreiking shack later tonight. That's where I'll be staying by the way."

"Won't you be cold?"

"I've been fixing it up a bit on the inside. I've got the heat working and at least two satisfactory bedrooms. No electricity though, that would look to suspicious."

"Why have you been fixing it up?"

"Something to do with my spare time. And of course, in case anything like this ever happened, which now it has."

"Come in."

Neville opened the door to the headmasters office slowly and closed it behind him.

"I'm sorry,Proffessor!" Crystaline drops of water started to streak down the boys face. "Please don't expel me! It was an accident, I swear!"

"Mr. Longbottom, calm down. I merely need you to tell me what happened down in potions this morning. Proffessor Snape already told me what he saw."

"I was following the directions on the board, but I must have grabbed a wrong ingrediant, or mixed a couple of ingrediants up, or not have waited long enough to drop the ingrediant in. I really am horrible at potions. The next thing I know, Aithne grabbed me and pulled me to the ground as my cauldron exploded."

"Was Aithne injured?"  
"I don't think so. Someone said she'd fainted and Proffessor Lupin had taken up to her common room."

"Thank you, Neville. You may go now."

"That . . That's it?"

"It was clearly an accident, I have no reason to punish you. Now off to board the train with you. Woudn't want you to be stuck here for your winter vacation."

Crookshanks darted underneath the branches and pressed the not at the base of the tree. Immeadiately the branches stopped trying to impale Remus as he ran to the base and slipped into the passage that led to the Shreiking Shack. Remus walked quickly, mindful of Aithne, who still hadn't woken up.

As he entered the house where he would be staying with Aithne, Remus felt a shiver run down his spine from the memories that he held for this place. He walked up the stairs and into one of the bedrooms. The sun finally sank below the horizon, and full night fell. Aithne stirred. Remus just shook his head, vampires were naturally nocturnal creatures, it didn't really suprise him that Aithne was waking up now.

Aithne rolled over and her eyes, like liquid steel, blinked open and focused on him. He felt himself shiver under that gaze.

"How nice of you to join me, Aithne."

"Remus," Aithne replied, her voice audibly scratchy.

"Here," Remus rolled the sleeve of his robe up and held his bare arm out to Aithne. "Be gentle."

Aithne smiled weakly as she took hold of the arm.

A/N: Please R&R! I'm suffering from severe review withdrawel! Hope scene changes are clear enough!

1- Vanora is Aithne's last name


	6. The Potion part 2

xXxxXxxXx

Chapter 6

The Potion part 2

xXx

'Where am I?' Aithne rolled over on the bed and encountered a warm being. She opened her eyes and blinked slowly at the arm which was sprawled across the bed. She followed it upwards to the body it was connected to and let out a small gasp. She noticed the two self-healing bite marks of a vampire on his wrist.

"Remus," she whispered. "I am so sorry." She looked over the rest of him quickly and made sure that he had no other injuries. "C'mon, Remus, let's get you up here on the bed where you'll be a bit more comfortable."

As she moved him up onto the bed, Remus groaned and mumbled something the sounded like 'I can do it myself'.

"You just relax and get some rest; I'll go make you some food." Aithne tucked the covers of the bed up and around Lupin and walked down to the kitchen and made up some nourishing food to take back up to Remus.

As Aithne came back into the bedroom and set the soup she had onto a small table next to the bed, she noticed that Remus was awake.

"You're awake! Here, Remus, eat some soup, it'll help you to regain some of your strength."

Aithne helped Remus into a relatively sitting position before helping him to eat some of the soup she had made.

"Do you know how long have we been here, Remus?"

"We've been here for about two days. Don't worry about it, it's winter vacation, no classes." Remus finished the soup, leaned back into the bed, and closed his eyes with every intention of going back to sleep apparent. Before drifting off into that dark oblivion, he managed to mumble a soft almost inaudible 'thank you'.

"You have nothing to thank me for, I put you in this condition. You just get some rest; I'll find a book to read or something."

xXx Several days later

"Remus! Where did you put those potion ingredients?"

"Bottom left hand cupboard next to the garbage can." Aithne smiled as she got the ingredients and Remus finished coming down the stairs.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. How long will this potion take to make?"

"A week or so. I'll have it done in plenty of time before classes start again. Of course, then I'll have to face Dumbledore and all of his questions. That'll be fun."

"Well, it's not like you have anything to hide from him. I mean, I know your secret and I don't have any problem with it."

"You're different, Remus. You have been cursed as much as I have. Both of us have 'difficulties'."

"I don't think you really appreciate what Albus does for people like us, Aithne. He gave me a job when no one else would, not only that, he did it twice! He educated me when I was a boy, and treated me as a human instead of a monster. We both knew that Albus would find out eventually, we just didn't know when. The only reason we didn't tell him at the beginning was for his own safety. You yourself said that the less people know the safer they will be, but now Albus cannot be one of those people. Albus will then either make up something to explain what happened last day of term or explain what really happened. Don't worry, the other teachers have no say in the matter, it is Albus's decision alone. Besides, all of the teachers are part of the order, so they should support you. I'll go with you when the time comes if you'd like."

"Thank you Remus, I appreciate it. We'd better get started on this potion if we want it done before the end of break. I still need some lacewing and powdered horn of a mandragore."

"I'll head up to the castle and get those for you." Remus grabbed his cloak and headed down the passageway to the castle. It was helpful that she needed something, he needed to get his monthly potion from Severus anyway.

Aithne set up her cauldron quickly and went about getting it ready for the extremely difficult potion that she was about to make. "Not that it's hard for me to make anymore," she muttered adding one of the needed ingredients from her package.

Remus returned in a mere two hours.

"What took so long?" Aithne asked playfully.

"I had to get my monthly potion from Severus."

"Oh, I see. Did he ask about me?"

"Yes, and it took quite some time to get around most of his questions. Here are your ingredients. How is it coming along?"

"As well as can be expected."

Several days and one werewolf transformation later found Aithne and Remus still in residence at the Shrieking Shack and with Aithne putting the last finishing touches on her potion.

"Yum, doesn't this look tasty?" Aithne commented sarcastically as she ladled some of the potion, which looked like thick chocolate milk, into a glass. "Take my word on this, Remus, never become a vampire, the potions are less than desirable."

Aithne downed the entire gobletful in one gulp, grimacing as she swallowed. "Okay, when do we get to go back up to the castle?"

"Does now suit your needs?"

"Now would be perfect. We will beat the students by about 48 hours, giving me just enough time to be interrogated by every teacher currently residing at Hogwarts

xXx

A/N: Sorry it took so long to post, but computer problems and writers block yadda yadda yadda. Thanks for reviews on the last chapter, please R&R.


	7. Snape's Squabble

A/N: I know its been like eight months, but with school, my computer being evil, and writer's block it's taken me this long to get another chapter written. I sincerely apologize for such a long wait for this chapter and I don't know how long it will be before the next update on this story because I'm going to attempt another chapter on most of my other stories. As Shakespeare wrote: "Brevity is the soul of wit", so enjoy the chapter and PLEASE R&R!

Chapter 7 Snape's Squabble

"Remus, exactly how much longer is this tunnel? It is un_godly_ long and walking like this fashion is making my back hurt."

"Don't worry; the tunnel ceiling will get higher eventually." No sooner was this comment made than Lupin was able to straighten up and help Aithne through the rough tunnel and into the wider space.

"It's not much farther from here."

"Let's just hope nobody sees us appear from a hole in the ground, shall we?"

"After you, Aithne." Aithne scrambled up the tiny bank that led to the tunnels exit. She peered out, and, seeing no one, pressed the knot at the base of the tree and climbed out with Lupin following close behind.

"Oh! It's quite cold out here," Aithne exclaimed as she pulled her robes closer around her.

"Yes, it is," Lupin agreed mildly. "Let's get up to the castle and inside where it's warm."

The pair hurried along the shoveled pathways up to the front doors, pushed one open, went in, and shoved it closed behind them.

"Your office?"

"Certainly. We can send down to the kitchens for some food while I make some tea."

The two reached the third floor without incident, until of course they ran into Harry on the way down the corridor.

"Harry! What are you doing up here? Shouldn't you be outside having a snowball fight or something like that?"

"We had to cancel, Ron and the other Weasley's all have the flu. Hermione is looking up potions that might help, so I'm on my own, unless of course I run into Peeves. I was just checking to see if you were back yet."

"We were going to send down for some food and make some tea if you'd like to join us."

Harry seemed to brighten at the prospect of someone besides an irate Hermione or extremely stuffed-up Ron. Harry turned and led the way back down the corridor to Lupin's room, where Lupin unlocked the door and let Aithne and Harry precede him into the room. Lupin moved about in the process of making tea after sending a house elf down to the kitchens for food, leaving Harry and Aithne to make conversation.

"I hope you're feeling better, Aithne."

"I'm feeling much better, thank you, Harry. What's happened while Remus and I have been gone?"

"I can about sum it up with one word . . . chaos. I think Professor Snape suspects something about you and Professor Lupin."

"He is a very observant man, it isn't surprising. It doesn't matter, as long as my secrets are safe - as I'm sure they are - everything is fine. I'll need to dispel any rumors as quickly as possible and find time to talk with Dumbledore and Snape as soon as possible."

Lupin came in with the tea in time to hear Aithne's last comment and stopped where he was in the doorway. "What do you mean, talk with Snape?"

"Snape is the only other person I need to convince of my innocence. The rest of the teachers will believe Dumbledore if he tells them it's nothing. Snape knows some thing is going on, and he is neither lazy nor stupid. I can't avoid him forever, so it's better to confront him and get it over with."

Aithne took her cup of tea from Lupin as Harry got up to open the door for Dobby, who was bearing a large tray of food. Dobby handed the tray to Lupin before leaving to finish getting the castle ready for the return of the majority of Hogwarts' students. The three ate the food and drank their tea in relative silence and when everyone was finished they all stood of mutual accord and headed out to the corridor.

"I'll accompany the two of you up to the common room," Lupin said as they walked down the corridor.

"You just don't want to be in your office if Snape comes by, admit it, Remus," Aithne commented jokingly as they started up the stairs.

"That's only part of the reason," Lupin muttered under his breath, quietly enough that no one could hear him.

The traveled the rest of the way in silence, the evening's gloom giving them an atmosphere of dreariness. They reached the portrait hole, gained entrance to the common room, and then found comfortable places near the fire to sit; Aithne and Lupin on a couch and Harry in one of the many wing-back chairs.

After sitting in companionable silence for over half an hour, Hermione came through the portrait hole carrying a large stack of books looking extremely grumpy. Spotting the three by the fire, she walked over and set the books on a vacant chair before turning to address them.

"If I have to spend ONE more day with Ron in the condition he's in, I'm going to kill him. I'm sorry, Harry, but he's driving me crazy, and if it doesn't stop, I'm going to strangle him. Add on to that the fact I spent all day in the library and found absolutely nothing! I still have to look through these books before going to bed tonight."

"Don't worry, I'll help you look. Why don't you hand me one of those books and we'll get started, okay?" Hermione nodded and handed Aithne a book.

Aithne flipped to the V section of the index and skimmed through it quickly. Not finding what she was looking for, Aithne handed the book back to Hermione and accepted another. Harry, assuming that the search would take some time, made his excuses and headed upstairs to bed.

Aithne went through several more books along with Lupin, who was helping a bit reluctantly, and Hermione, before finally finding the potion she was looking for. Aithne stood, walked over to Hermione, and handed her the open book.

"This potion is called _Virulion Evaporatus_ or more commonly referred to as 'Flu-B-Gone'. It will take about six hours to brew, but if you give it to the Weasleys in the morning, they'll be right as rain by the end of breakfast."

Hermione looked over the potion, and, seeing that it wasn't difficult, merely tedious, went to gather the needed ingredients while Aithne escorted Lupin over to the portrait hole and bid him goodnight. Aithne walked back over to the fire and helped Hermione set up the cauldron and start the potion before heading up to the dormitories to retire at nearly midnight. Sleep, however, as it did most nights, was to elude her. Also as in nights, her thoughts began to drift toward her newest assignment from Voldemort.

Voldemort would not accept failure, and Aithne couldn't afford it. Merlin's chest, unfortunately, was proving more elusive than she wished to admit.

'Well,' she thought to herself, 'I'll just have to call in a few of the favors Trey owes me.'

Aithne pondered on her mission for a bit more before finally drifting off into a relaxed and dreamless sleep.

xXxxXxxXx

"I ab NOT tabing that! It sbells disbustbing!"

"Ronald Weasley, you WILL take it even if I have to shove it down your throat!"

Aithne groaned as she was pulled from her sleep by the conflict resounding from the boy's dormitories. Aithne, her jet-black hair falling to rest on her pale-complected skin, rose to shut the drapes on the east wall to block the rising sun's rays from the room before starting to dress.

"What a _wonderful_ way to start the day," she muttered sarcastically to herself as she walked down the stairs to meet Harry, who was wincing as violent-sounding noises drifted down from his dorm.

"I'm sure Hermione will be down soon," Harry said uncertainly.

"Well, I'm sure she can meet us in the entryway and I'm sure Ron will be close behind. Let's go."

The two had walked down the stairs and into the entry hall and had started toward the Great Hall when Aithne paused.

"Aithne, what's wrong?"

"I can't go in there, Harry. The rest of the students haven't returned from break yet and most of the teachers already know that that isn't where I've been all this while. If I go in there, Harry, most of the people are probably going to start asking me questions of where I've been and how I got back early. It will just be easier for me to avoid most of the students and teachers until after the rest of the students return and I've talked with Dumbledore. You go have breakfast, Harry; I'll go for a walk or something."

"All right, I'll save you some toast."

Aithne nodded her head in thanks before heading down a side hall that would lead out to the gardens. As she approached the exit, the handle began to turn and the door opened to reveal none other than Professor Severus Snape.

"Professor," Aithne practically bit the word off as she stepped back in surprise as Snape's eyes landed on her.

"Miss Vanora. So nice to see you again. Won't you join me in my office for a moment?"

"Do I have a choice, Professor?"

"No, because there are some questions that I need you to answer for me. This way," Snape moved past Aithne and started down towards the dungeons where his office was located. When they entered his office, Snape silently offered Aithne a seat before walking around the desk and sitting adjacent to her.

"Miss Vanora," he began in smooth tones.

"I have a first name, Professor; I would appreciate it if you would use it."

"I want you to know, that what students do on their own time is none of my concern. However, when a student's personal ideas, experiments, and/or issues tamper with my classroom and disrupt my teaching, it is my concern."

"And I'd like you to know, Professor, that it was _your_ teaching that tampered with _my_ personal issues, not the other way around."

"What did you say?" Snape's almost whispered tone implied danger, but Aithne wasn't overly worried.

"I believe you heard what I said, Professor."

"Fine, we'll move on. Where have you been during this past vacation?"

"I was at a friends house, _sir_," Aithne added emphasis on the last word.

"I have truth potions not five feet from me. Do _not_ lie to me, girl," Snape snarled at her, momentarily losing his temper.

"I'm not lying. I was with a friend, recovering from the incident in your potions class, which, I might add, made me quite ill."

"An incident you caused!"

"An incident in which I prevented a fatality!" Aithne said forcefully, standing. "I told you I'm not lying. I was with a friend after becoming ill because of an accident caused because you intimidate your students to such a point of panic, they are no longer capable of reasonable thought and are robbed of their ability to learn. _I_ did not cause that explosion, _you_ did. And so you know, this is a student-teacher discussion, not an interrogation or criminal trial, so, if you want answers, _Severus_, talk with Dumbledore after I'm done!" With that, Aithne stormed from the room, leaving Snape alone to ponder over the conversation and the disrespectful way Aithne had used his first name.

xXxxXxxXx

Thanks for reading! PLEASE review. I don't want this story to die, and reviews are really encouraging to me. So please R&R, I'm begging you to!


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